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Timo Boll
Photo: Tom Weller / dpa
The German table tennis star Timo Boll does not want to go to the Olympic Games in Paris this summer as a substitute player. Participating in the seventh Olympics of his career is a big goal for the 42-year-old record European champion. But Boll told the German Press Agency: “I only want to play if I have the feeling that I can achieve something. I don't want to take anyone's place just to be there. Then it would be better for a younger player who has not yet experienced the Olympics to have the experience.
Just like the former world number one Dimitrij Ovtcharov, individual European champion Dang Qiu and the two former team European champions Patrick Franziska and Benedikt Duda, Boll is part of the German squad for the team world championship in South Korea that begins on Friday. "I don't know if Germany has ever taken such a strong team to a World Cup," said Dang Qiu.
However, only three of these five top players plus one substitute can be part of the team at the Olympic Games in Paris in July. Boll wants to face this competition after recently fighting his way back to the top of the world after a long injury break. Participation in the Olympics at any price is out of the question for the German flag bearer of the 2016 Games.
ara/dpa